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Month: March 2018

As you know by now, I’m Jeremy Burgess, the Unit 3 Supervisor. I will be returning for my 13th summer at Camp Yomi, and my 2nd summer as the Unit 3 Supervisor. During the school year, I am a 3rd grade teacher.

I love working at Camp Yomi and enjoy coming back each and every summer. Something I’m super excited for this summer is the overnight. I’ve been a part of many overnights in the past and they are always tons of fun. It’s like one huge sleepover with all of your friends! In the beginning of every summer, I watch the campers and counselors meet at camp not knowing each other quite well, and then, they leave the summer having made a best friend or a memory that lasts forever.

This summer Unit 3’s theme will be the greatest city in the world, New York. We have fun activities planned, so get ready!!

Upcoming Important Dates:
Sunday, June 10- New Family Picnic
Monday, June 25- Parent Night at 92Y
Tuesday, July 10- Parent Night at the campgrounds
Thursday, July 19- First Overnight
Thursday, August 9- Second Overnight

You contact me by phone at 212-415-5643 ext. 2 or email at yomi3@92y.org.

Welcome to Summer 2018! After being a Unit 2 Head Counselor, I am thrilled to be returning to the 92Y Camps as your Swim Director. During the school year I teach 3rd grade special education in an inclusion classroom. I am really looking forward to making the swim program safe and fun for your campers!

Nearly one third of the camp day takes place at the pool. Campers have both a free and instructional swim period each day. On the first day of camp, certified instructors test all campers based on American Red Cross (ARC) standards. Lifeguards are trained to ensure that campers feel comfortable during their swim tests. Please note that campers will be placed into swim groups based on this initial test; 92Y Camps will not accept ARC cards because we need to assess campers’ swim abilities first hand. Similarly, returning campers’ instructional placements will be based on the results of their 2018 swim test alone. Swim instruction begins once all testing is complete, usually by the second or third day of camp. Campers starting camp later in the summer will be tested and placed into a swim group on their first day.

Safety is extremely important at Camp Yomi. Accordingly, we use color-coded bracelets to identify campers’ swim abilities. Wader, Splasher, and Guppy groups (ARC Level 1) wear blue bracelets; Tadpole, Minnow, and Goldfish (ARC Level 2) wear orange bracelets; and Catfish and above (ARC Level 3) wear red bracelets. The Board of Health mandates that campers wear the correct swim bracelet, and all campers will wear blue bracelets until swim testing is completed. Only Level 3 swimmers (red bracelets) are allowed to use the waterslide or swim in deep water. Below, you will find detailed descriptions of each swim level, along with their associated skills.

High swim standards are set by the ARC not only to ensure safety but also to promote consistency and accuracy. All campers are evaluated throughout the summer—the lifeguards will advance campers in their instructional swim groups as soon as they have achieved the learning targets. While campers may not experience “re-tests” that resemble their initial swim test, the instructors formally assess campers’ swim skills throughout each lesson. Because the swim instructors determine who is ready to move up every Thursday, there should be no need to request individual re-evaluations. Please remind campers that safety is our number one priority; all improvements in swim ability represent success, and campers will change groups based on their individual progress, as assessed by their instructors.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have about our swim program at (212) 415-5643 ext. 3 or via email at campswim@92y.org. I am very excited to meet you and get to know your campers as they learn and have a wonderful summer in the pool!

Best,
Nina Furfaro
92Y Camps Swim Director 2018

Blue Bracelets

Wader

Follows all pool rules
Safely enters and exits pool without hesitation
Floats on stomach and holds air correctly (can hold a big breathe to float)
Beginning flutter kick on front

Splasher

Enters water without help
Exits water without help
Successfully does a slide-in entry
Walks in water comfortably up to their chest
Flutter kick on front and back with support

Guppy

Fully submerges their body (including head) for 5 seconds
With face in water, blows bubbles with mouth
With face in water, blow bubbles through nose
Cups hands to hold water
Uses cupped hands to push water
Floats on back while supported by an instructor
Floats on stomach while supported by an instructor
Successfully flutter kicks for 15 seconds
Holds breath underwater for 7 seconds
Successfully floats with arms in a front crawl position
Successfully pulls through while in a front crawl motion

Successfully retrieves objects underwater
Successfully prone glides with flutter kick
Demonstrates basic combined front crawl (combines arm pull and kick in a rhythmic motion; is able to maintain correct body position)
Successfully turns over from their back to front
Correct body position on back with flutter kick (flat on top of the water)

Goldfish

Successfully back floats without support from instructor
Demonstrates rhythmic breathing while on front
Demonstrates combined front crawl with stamina
Demonstrates combined back crawl with stamina
Completes orientation to deep water (can safely tread water for 1 minute, demonstrates comfort, floating, and crawl in deep water)

Red Bracelets (eligible for water slide)

Catfish

Continuously treads water for 2 minutes in deep water
Demonstrates rhythmic breathing with stamina
Able to swim at least 20 yards crawl/freestyle with rhythmic breathing and c
Demonstrates correct body position and no disruption of the stroke when a breath is taken; swimmers’ bodies roll side to side as arms stroke for both freestyle/crawl and backstroke.

Dolphin

Demonstrates crawl stroke with finger tip entry (hand slices into water directly in line with shoulder)
Completely bobs head 15 times in water
Completes the front crawl with stamina, able to maintain correct arm pull directly under body
Completes the back crawl with stamina, able to rotate body while swimming, maintain correct (still) head position
Can successfully reverse direction while on their front
Can successfully reverse direction while on their back
Follows all diving rules

Marlin

Demonstrate streamline position (interlocked fingers, aligned with head, legs parallel to bottom) for distance
Demonstrates breath control
Push off wall at angle, able to demonstrate reversing direction while swimming
Able to experiment with buoyancy
Refine front crawl and kick

Barracuda

Demonstrates 15 deep water bobs
Experiments with floating positions
Demonstrates front crawl w/ rotary breathing (swimmer breathes by rolling body from side to side, rather than lifting his or her head)
Able to scull on back for 15 sec
Successfully completes a back crawl for 25 yards
Completes the basics of breaststroke for 25 yards

Shark

Demonstrates the elementary backstroke for 25 yards
Successfully completes the breaststroke kick for 10 yards
Intro to a wall front flip turn (rather than an open wall turn)
Treads water for 2 minutes straight
Completes a ‘standing dive’
Able to successfully review rescue breathing

My name is Anna Ziemski and I will be the Unit K Supervisor this Summer 2018!

I’d like to be one of the first to welcome you to the Camp Yomi family. For many of our campers, the Unit K experience is a summer of firsts: first back float, first soccer goal, or first life-long friend. We take pride in fostering an environment in which each camper feels safe, confident, and enthusiastic during his or her new adventure!

Additionally, I am excited to announce the Unit K Theme for this summer: Up in the Air! Think helicopters, fireworks, clouds, birds, insects, and anything else that flies high! This theme will be reflected in our arts and crafts, games, costumes, and action-packed late-night activities, all throughout the summer! Our Late-Nights will be held up at the campgrounds on Thursday, July 5th and Thursday, August 2nd.

If you have any questions about Unit K or Camp Yomi in general, please do not hesitate to contact me at yomik@92Y.org or call the Camp Office at 212.415.5643 ext. 5. I am also working in the Camp Office during the months leading up to the camp season and will be available to speak on the phone or correspond via email with you if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s summer experience.

Finally, I’d like to mention two important upcoming Camp Yomi events. Sunday, June 10th from 11am to 3pm is our New Family Picnic at the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds in Rockland County. Buses will leave from the 92Y at 11am and return at around 3pm. This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your campers to see the grounds and sample some of the exciting activities we offer. No RSVP necessary!

June 26th from 5:30 to 7pm is Unit K’s Parent Night at the 92Y. At this event you’ll be able to meet your child’s counselors, Head Counselor, our Camp Director Ivy Manheim, other children in your camper’s group, and me. No RSVP necessary.

I am Julie Kline and will be the Unit 1 Supervisor for Summer 2018. I wholeheartedly believe in camp. Camp is a place where children can be themselves, make new friends, try a variety of activities, take risks, and grow physically, emotionally, and mentally. (Fun is obviously and always included!) We cannot wait for your camper to be surrounded by the positive energy of Unit 1’s committed and caring staff.

Unit 1’s theme for the summer is…(drumroll please)…UNDER THE SEA!!! Get your snorkels and fish faces ready because it’s going to be a SPLASH.

Important Dates:

May 15 – Medical Forms are due

June 10 – New Family Picnic (For more details, check out the flyer in the documents section, or contact the camps office at 212.415.5573 or campmail@92y.org.)

June 21 – Parent Night at 92Y (Bring your camper to the Y to meet his/her counselors and other campers in the group!)

July 5 – Late Night!

July 17 – Parent Night at Camp

August 2 – Late Night!

A little bit about me…I am entering my third (and final!) year at Bank Street College of Education, where I am pursuing my Master’s degrees in both General Childhood Education and Teaching Literacy. I received my Bachelor’s degrees in Human Development and English, with a minor in Education from Binghamton University.

My camp career started in Scottsdale, Arizona, where I was a kindergarten and first grade sports camp counselor for three years. Since working at the 92nd Street Y over the past four summers, I have been a Unit 4 Supervisor, Counselor, and Unit 1 Head Counselor. Outside of camp, I’ve had many experiences in a variety of schools, including teaching second grade at Bank Street School for Children, fifth grade at P.S. 234, and kindergarten at The Heschel School. I also worked alongside a third and fourth grade learning specialist at The Little Red School House.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to say hi, please always feel free to email me at yomi1@92y.org.

Looking forward to an amazing summer ~Under the Sea~ with you and your camper!

My name is Sarah Caro and I am thrilled to return as the Unit 2 supervisor for Summer 2018! I have been a part of the Camp Yomi family since 2010 and my FAVORITE camp activities are Zipline & Ceramics!

I cannot wait to meet all of you and spend our summer together! When I’m not at camp, I teach 8th grade English and Special Education in the Bronx throughout the year. This is my fourth year teaching! In my personal time, I love to watch movies, play with my 3 AMAZING dogs, and indulge in creative projects. I am also an avid traveller and have been to 12 different countries, hoping to go to many more. (Hint!) I most recently went to volunteer teach in India.

This year Unit 2’s theme is… (drumroll please)

Passport to Unit 2…. World Travelers!!!

But I’m sure you already guessed that! This summer will be filled with passport stamps, cultural explorations, and we will definitely travel the world from the comfort of camp this summer! We’ve got a ton of adventures planned and I cannot wait for you to join our Unit 2 family!

Welcome to Summer 2018! My name is Maddy Weinfeld and I am so excited to be Unit 4’s Supervisor for this upcoming summer! Last year, I was a Unit 3 Head Counselor at Camp Yomi and love everything about camp. I am so excited to get to know all of the Unit 4 campers and know that we will have an amazing summer together! My favorite camp activities are cooking, swimming and tennis. More than the activities, I love the cheering, spirit and most importantly, the friendships made at camp. I am counting down the days until the summer fun begins!

Outside of camp, I am graduating from NYU’s Silver School of Social Work in May with my Master’s in Social Work and I will be joining a group practice as an associate therapist in the fall. I plan to incorporate what I have learned in graduate school to my work with your children this summer in order to be the best Supervisor I can be!

I am excited to share that Unit 4’s theme this summer is going to be “The Greatest Unit Four,” inspired by the movie, “The Greatest Showman.” We have many exciting upcoming events that I want to make sure everyone has marked on their calendars.

New Family Picnic: June 10

Parent Night at the 92nd Street Y: June 25

Parent Night at Camp Yomi: July 10

Overnight #1: July 12

Overnight #2: August 2

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns leading up to the summer. My email address is yomi4@92y.org and phone number is 212-415-5643 ex. 2.

In collaboration with #7DaysofGenius, Sixth & I in D.C. hosted theoretical physicist Michio Kaku for a discussion of his new book The Future of Humanity, which traverses the frontiers of astrophysics, artificial intelligence, and technology to offer a vision of man’s future in space.

In 2018, 7 Days of Genius took place in 17 countries and 7 cities in the US!

Our 7 Days of Genius thought partners created events that tackled everything from inclusive design to the cities and homes of the future, the secret of genius collaboration and the future of life in space. There were events around collaborative drawing, poetry, local activism and even a Hackathon. Check out some of the great pictures below.

To celebrate #7DaysofGenius, NYCFIRST STEM Center hosted a Hackathon. Students received an introduction to Python and Raspberry Pi and used their skills to solve a local problem.

What was the topic of your event?

We explored how to improve the relationship with the New York City community of Roosevelt island.

What new or innovative ideas were discussed or presented?

The students used what they learned to ask how to implement technological solutions to improve communication — from a buzzer, to a light prompt to a screen.

How does your event contribute to a larger conversation or thinking about a global challenge in a new way?

Students were encouraged to understand that problems can be solved within a community; that ideas can be rapidly prototyped for relatively cheap as a proof of concept; and that students have the capability to make change.

Did your Genius event lead to new action or opportunities for your community?

One of the students who participated has taken the topic of communication with Roosevelt Island as her personal project for the semester. She wishes to create a working prototype for the space, and will be working with the rest of the participants to get support to do so.

For #7DaysofGenius, Guatemala’s NetSquared Meetup and Grafiatec organized a series of events through out the week, including a visit of 80 talented students from Universidad del Valle to Campus Tec, a main event on Campus Tec with over 20 visitors and several satellite events around Guatemala City.

What was the topic of your event?

Our events highlighted local tech talent in Guatemala.

What new or innovative ideas were discussed or presented?

We explored how to use technology for visually impaired individuals, how to use design thinking to new technlogy, innovation, entrepreneurship, science and explored new technology being developed in Guatemala.

How does your event contribute to a larger conversation or thinking about a global challenge in a new way?

We are trying to incoporate our national agenda with the worldwide agenda. We are focused on the use of technology and innovation locally in our country and how it intersects with the rest of the world.

Did your Genius event lead to new action or opportunities for your community?

We established an agenda for developing technology for visually impaired, implementing a national girls and technology chapter and new paths for our entrepreneurs and innovators to implement their initiatives.

“My goal in all of this process is to connect with other people,” says artist, educator and Eyebeam alum Taeyoon Choi. While the digital age has connected people in unprecedented ways, Choi has also seen the ways in which some members of society are left out. He was inspired to use sign language to teach computer programming to the hearing impaired and use art to erase the perceived differences between people. Watch our Eyebeam #7DaysofGenius feature:

On March 6, Shared_Studios hosted a #7DaysofGenius conversation that connected entrepreneurs in Brooklyn with those in Herat through Portals — gold spaces equipped with immersive audiovisual technology.

What was the topic of your event?

This event asked participants to reflect on how we can use technology to bring people together; to solve a local challenge and/or address the spread of disinformation and polarization.

Where was it? Who participated?

Our event was in the Brooklyn_Portal by Shared_Studios at the New Lab in NYC and the Herat_Portal by Shared_Studios in Herat, Afghanistan. Representatives from several start-ups participated including: Yu Nong Khew from Khew Cornelius, Adel Frankel from Nanotronics, Berk Kapicioglu from OccamzRazo, Jacob Hall Gordon from Artiphon.

What ideas were discussed or presented?

Participants shared their first or most memorable experience with technology as a way to break the ice. Many found uncanny similarities as they encountered the same technology and software around the same time but in different countries: the introduction of the internet and chat/messaging software like ICQ, MSN and now Facebook Messenger; the concept of Cat-fishing and fake profiles; online Dating and how online dating is in different cultures like Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan. Participants spoke about how technology allows individuals to explore and expand their global views and vocabulary. Through social media and the internet, the participants have been able to connect with strangers and friends from all around the world, they have been able to break down cultural boundaries and stereotypes that exist by experiencing the benefits of new technology like the Portal as a means to holding meaningful conversations.

Did your Genius event lead to new action or opportunities for your community?

Participants exchanged contact information with one another with the intention of engaging and participating in more Portal Conversations and in the hopes of connecting with more locations like Herat, Afghanistan again.

For #7DaysofGenius, the Good Group in Tel Aviv organized an event around the theme of inclusive design.

What was the topic of your event?

Our event was framed through the following statement, ‘design plays an important role in everything around us, every product we use, the furniture we sit on, and the space we live in. For people with disabilities, design is even more important, and accessible inclusive design can open up new worlds.

We then focused on the difference between accessibility and inclusiveness. Is something inclusive just by means of being accessible? The answer is usually, no. We had three main speakers who each spoke about accessibility and inclusiveness in their work.

Vital Zinger, a world champion Paralympic dancer spoke of her daily experience as an active person in a wheelchair and how sometimes, its the small things that make a huge difference in her day.

Shachaf Galili, the head of the accessibility department of Midburn (Israel’s Burning Man) spoke about making experiences and events more inclusive, and how they work to make the 11,000 person annual Midburn event more accessible and inclusive to all and how they use education to help spread the message and change the burner culture in Israel.

Dana Yiche-Schwekmann, an industrial designer with an expertise on products for people with disabilities spoke about what makes a product inclusive (when it appeals to all users, not just people with disabilities) and the market value of making inclusive products.

Where was it? How many people attended?

Our event took place at Rega Caffe, a recently reopened historical Tel Aviv Cafe and Salon. The original cafe was one of the pioneers of Tel Aviv’s legendary cafe culture and the renewed location aims to continue in that storied tradition. After much debate on what kind of event we wanted we decided to limit numbers in order to enable conversation and discussion. We had ~50 people (max capacity) in a diverse audience.

What new or innovative ideas were discussed or presented?

The biggest new idea that was discussed that while something may be accessible, that does not make it automatically inclusive. We discussed how often times, businesses or public spaces are able to meet accessibility standards and laws but that does not mean that people with disabilities have a positive user experience. Inclusiveness needs to be the goal and not just accessibility. We discussed how this can often be easily achieved by just asking/consulting with a user (person with a disability). We also discussed how most people often don’t realize the accessibility v. inclusiveness issue until they have personal experience with it (an injury that leaves them temporarily disabled, having a child and needing to navigate spaces with a stroller, an elderly family member etc.)

How does your event contribute to a larger conversation or thinking about a global challenge in a new way?

The WHO estimates that ~a billion people around the world live with a disability, this makes them the world’s largest minority and yet they do not have a proportional voice. We need to start thinking about accessibility and inclusiveness differently. We need to start listening to the users and hearing what they need and what (seemingly) small changes can be made to help them live more full and active lives.

Did your Genius event lead to new action or opportunities for your community?

The Genius event helped us to grow and expand our community and launched a lively discussion (that continued for 2 hours after the event officially finished!) People expressed interest in growing the community and getting involved. As an initiative that works to promote and create inclusive products for people with disabilities, we see great potential in growing this community and increasing our activity and local engagement. There are first conversations to work with local corporations on inclusiveness initiatives and events. More to come!!

As part of 7 Days of Genius 2018, Gidi Traffic & Giving Garage held an event that explored climate change; gender equality and how to empower more girls in Nigeria through menstrual health education.

Where was it? How many people attended?

The event was held at the Dustin Estate, AJEGUNLE IN LAGOS, NIGERIA. There were 85 women and girls, and 8 facilitators who attended.

What new or innovative ideas were discussed or presented?

We discussed and presented on new models of sanitary pads and discussed new “genius” solutions to expanding access for women and girls in rural areas. We got great Ha’s & Wow’s among our audience.

How does your event contribute to a larger conversation or thinking about a global challenge in a new way?

Gidi Traffic with over 1.4 Million Followers joined forces with Giving Garage’s Pad Man Initiative, World Merit, Hope Inspired Foundation, Africa Clean Up Initiative, Dreams from the Slum and Lots Charity Foundation to draw attention to about 52% Nigeria female population that are of reproductive age & menstruating. Menstruation is a taboo subject in Nigeria. There are over 10 million rural & internally displaced girls & women negatively affected by the lack of access to affordable and available hygienic menstrual materials.

Did your Genius event lead to new activities or opportunities for your community?

It is planned that the project would seek more partnerships to provide over 500 reusable sanitary pads for internally displaced and rural school girls and women monthly and increase use of healthy materials for menstrual hygiene management. Hopefully, the menstrual hygiene kit would also contain a handbook translated into the major languages to promote awareness and adequate information for mostly Rural Women and Men.

The theme of this year’s 7 Days of Genius, established by organization 92Y in New York, was “Creativity for the Common Good.ˮThe RSA invited its RSA Connectors to follow up on this topic with their local events.

I got an offer from Ms. Renáta Filková, Director of József Szinnyei Library in Komárno, Slovakia, to lead a children’s creative workshop. I created a concept of collaborating with children through drawing. Drawing is a part of visual communication, and its language is generally comprehensible for various groups of people. For children, expression through drawing is very natural, it is a way of exploring the world and testing their own abilities. It develops creativity, sensitivity, emotional world and fine motoring, but also seeing through images, imagination, and the ability to simplify complex intent into clear symbolism. It does not matter if the child later grows up to be a mathematician, a physicist, a programmer, or professional artist. They are able to remember this creative experience of collaborating through drawing at a very early age, and subconsciously return to the methods of cognition, recording, and interpretation that they discover experimentally in this way.

The 7 Days of Genuis workshop on March 6, 2018 started by introducing my work as an illustrator of children’s books published in Slovakia in 2016 and 2017. Then I did a simple drawing demonstration in my own style, actually in one of my many styles that I like to use as an illustrator and adapt to the occasion and the projects’ needs.

About 25 children aged 6 to 14 years were divided into small groups. Each group received one paper, a couple of black markers, and pencil crayons. The children learned to lead a line across the paper to simultaneously create patterns that continuously link to smaller or larger scenes and objects at certain points according to their own childhood imagination. The essence is that the line is not interrupted and thus always provides a new opportunity for another element. By drawing, the children learned logic and common interest in drawing a uniform image of a larger format using the simplest tool, a simple black marker. The drawn line was to be connected across all parts of the chosen composition, whether it included people, animals, houses, entire cities, or other objects. And metaphorically, the drawing was also to illustrate the context of life and the need for interconnection of society, relationship making, and interaction. Finding common themes and contact points was the main inspiration. Finally, to not leave the picture black and white, the children got coloured crayons to give the work a colourful accent.

Parents were also involved in the creative process and made positive comments regarding the result of the collaboration. They emphasized that Slovakia has long been lacking a similar authorial approach to the teaching of visual arts in today’s technology-driven times.

My brief illustrator input into the children’s thinking was enriching not only for me as the author of the workshop, as documented by photos from the “Collaborative Drawingˮ workshop, which took place on March 6, 2018.